Nightmares - in 4 yo DD

[MiniMousse]

My DD (4) has nightmares again and again every night, always in the 'second half' of the night ie after midnight, and several per night. She shouts, kicks, talks and often sobs, sometimes wakes crying.

She seems very distressed - the topics include scary animals, monsters, or her friends being mean to her etc. She generally ends up in bed with me and then neither of us gets much sleep as she then wakes me with her kicking and shouting!

Has anyone got any advice on how I can help lessen these?

My DS has night terrors, so different thing but the advice might be the same:-
Don't let her get over tired
Not too much stimulation (tv, sweets) just before bed
Bedroom not too hot
Lots of reassurance about how much we love him and how safe he is.

Can you see a link with anything she's seen (tv) or read?

Bumping this as I've been having major issues for months and its only dawned on me last night what it was.

Ds woke up crying 4 times last night, once the night before and 5..five times on monday. It seems so obvious now but for months i've been monitoring him, thinking he was hungry, thirsty, hot, cold, uncomfortable(bought new pillows and bedding) needing the toilet etc etc and then last night he was sobbing saying he had lost me and it hit me that it had been dreams all along.

It is just gone 2am every night so it does now tie in with what google has thrown out, just wondering if there is any more advice tips and help going as I'm feeling heartbroken its been going on so long already.

TIA

ps ds is 3.2..

Hi. I was just about to post about the same thing when I read this one. My 4yo DS is awake three to four times every night from midnight onwards with nightmare's. He never seems to remember much about them so haven't been sure if they were real or attention getting, but sounds very similar. Its been going on for a few months now getting progressively worse. He shares a room with his little brother so no one is getting any sleep. Like Minimousse and MilkshakeMaker, just really desperate for any thoughts, advice or suggestions.